As happy as a lark, this delicious scent of cupboard and of swilled down tile floors, recall the washing days of George Sand’s heroes and the Parisian laundry maids. Between stacks of embroidered linen sheets on a lady’s festooned bed, lavender and orange diffuse a smell of lightness and neatness.

A "lavandière", or laundress, was a woman who washed linens by hand, in a stream or at a wash house. The laundry was thrown into the water, rubbed with ash, rinsed, twisted and folded repeatedly. It was then beaten with a wooden instrument to wring out as much water as possible. It was then placed in a basket and taken somewhere to dry. In Paris, members of the laundress guild worked in dozens of wash houses, called “wash-sheds”, that were moored in the Canal St. Martin. Despite the hard labour, the laundresses, or washer-maids, were joyful, chattering and teasing amongst themselves.

The candlesCarrying a strong heritage and genuine expertise, this institution has established itself through the centuries with a careful commitment to quality. Cire Trudon uses a perfect wax formula and continues to unveil unique candles made with premium quality vegetal wax in respect to the environment. Crafted by glass artisans, each glass is unique and decorated with a gold shield.

Maison Trudon - L'ART DU CIRIER

Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau (1700-1782) was elected an associate member of France’s Royal Academy of Sciences in 1730. He actively participated in publishing the Description des Arts et des Métiers (Description of Arts and Crafts) collection by writing over twenty leaflets. One was dedicated to the “Candler’s Art”.

To help write the article, Duhamel du Monceau solicited Master Trudon whose expertise was invaluable. The text explained how wax is worked and then bleached to create church candles, flambeaux and torches … This leaflet confirmed, at the highest level, the skills and expertise of Cire Trudon.